Role Reversal AU
by Nyodrite
Summary: Sakumo wasn't planned, was the result of a one-night stand during a I-can't-believe-we're-still-alive celebration, and Kakashi freaked the fuck out when he realized he was a father. Sakumo's baby days were a constant stream of 'oh fuck he's crying what did I do wrong' and 'Sensei hELp mE I have no idea what I'm doing' with him constantly checking on napping bb!Sakumo.
1. info

**Just things from the Role Reversal AU. AKA the Protective Dad Kakashi AU.**

 **.**

* * *

.

Sometimes, Sakumo thought his father had no idea what to do with him.

It's not that he doubted that Kakashi loved him, it was hard to doubt the man's feeling when he was constantly shadowed by a ninken with ANBU training and Kakashi's habit of visiting him first- before checking injuries at the hospital or even reporting to the Hokage, but there were times where his father was just…different from the other parents he saw.

Once, when he found out that he was the top ranked student of his year, Sakumo surprised his father with a hug in his excitement and Kakashi just _froze_ , one hand darting into his weapon pouch before it registered that it was _Sakumo_ and froze too. Kakashi had stood stiffly in his hug for a moment as he babbled about his achievement- Sakumo noted the reaction but didn't comment because his father always reacted badly whenever he acknowledged that his father nearly harmed him- before awkwardly patting his head in congratulations, casually pulling away with the excuse of leading the way to a celebratory meal.

Then there were the times that Kakashi was home when Sakumo was practicing or doing homework for the Academy, the man always hovered- but then when in the village, Kakashi always tended to hover like a mother bird around a chick flying for the first time- and watched him work but never approached, never offered to help. It wasn't that Kakashi was unwilling to help him but Sakumo got the impression that the man didn't know _how_ to help; Hatake Kakashi was a genius and Sakumo, Sakumo _wasn't._

Sakumo was smart and he worked hard to improve but he still struggled with the things he learnt, it wasn't instinctual like his father _(sometimes the Academy teacher would look at him and sigh, mumbling about how different he was from his father and Sakumo- Sakumo wasn't a genius and he wished he could be himself without disappointing people, whished who he was was enough)_ and that was the problem. Kakashi, he thought, wanted very badly to help him and train with him but didn't know how to explain how he just _knew_ what to do, didn't want to train with Sakumo because it would just emphasize the fact that _Sakumo wasn't a genius_.

It was, Sakumo would think whenever Kakashi would kind of _hunch_ into himself when Sakumo glanced at him, as if Kakashi viewed this a personal failure- like there was something wrong with him just because he couldn't help his son with homework.

It made Sakumo think, along with the absolute absence of his mother, that Kakashi hadn't planned on having a child

* * *

Kakashi's jōnin-sensei was Uzumaki Mito, he's _very_ good at making tea now, he's also friends with Orochimaru and takes an unholy amount of joy from trolling Jiraiya. He's in ANBU, is actually very high up in the ranks, and has been since he was a teenager but he does take missions as a regular jōnin- partially to maintain a reputation and partially because he just likes going on missions with the Sannin. Kakashi was on a team with Maito Dai (Gai's father) and Katō Dan (Tsunade's lover), Sakumo does take Kakashi's place on Team Minato.

Mito so takes Kakashi under her wing and teaches him sealing- teaches him more then what jōnin-sensei were expected to teach their students tbh- but, whenever anyone asks about what she taught/the greatest thing she taught him, Kakashi always tells people, "She taught me how to make a perfect cup of tea."

Sakumo wasn't planned, was the result of a one-night stand during a _I can't believe we're still alive_ celebration, and Kakashi _freaked the fuck out_ when he realized he was a father. Sakumo's baby days were a constant stream of _oh fuck he's crying what did I do wrong?_ and _Sensei hELp mE I have no idea what I'm doing!_ with him constantly checking on napping bb!Sakumo to make sure he was still breathing- Kakashi was just a giant ball of terror and anxiety because he was certain anything he did would hurt or kill his son.

Kakashi is overprotective, like he has a ninken with his son and calls in favors so that his ANBU teammates will play bodyguard over Sakumo when he has to go on a mission protective. He has a compulsive _need_ to know where Sakumo is, who's with him and what he's doing. When Sakumo graduates and gets a Jōnin-sensei, their meeting is _intense_ because Kakashi is just _who are you to think you are good enough to teach my son?_ and _if my son gets seriously injured while in your care you better fucking hope that you died trying to prevent it_ and the eventually the Hokage has to step in to keep him from traumatizing the poor jōnin.

Honestly, I see Dad!Kakashi as the kind of parent who'd meticulously hoard keepsakes/pictures of their kid and brings their kid up in conversation _all the time._ Like not even just in the "My child is amazing" kind of way but also "He's staying late to help a classmate and I'm worried his classmate will do something horrible like _what if that hussy tries to **hold his hand!?**_ " kind of way.

First sleepover, if it's not something that's hosted at the Hatake home- because Kakashi might not want a bunch of children running around his house, he prefers it to letting his son stay the night at a stranger's house- then Kakashi just so happens to be part of the ANBU squad whose duty is to patrol the area the sleepover is taking place. _All night._

bb!Sakumo is a cinnamon roll (who could actually kill you) and the ninken shadowing him are fully prepared to take down anyone who tries to "taint" him (various Uchiha may or may not have made deals with Inuzuka after seeing how good the ninken were with dealing with fangirls).

.

"Sakumo-" he halted on his way out the house to look at his father, "Listen to me. You've graduated but you still have a test to complete before you're a genin, get to know your teammates during the lunch break and try to work out a few plans- focus on the main aspects of what it means to be a shinobi of Konohagakure- but mostly familiarize yourself with your teammates' capabilities. Take the time to be absolutely certain of what tools you have with you. And if your teammates touch you, I want you to make use of your teeth, go for the throat and don't let go until the body stops twitching- I'll take care of the corpse."

Sakumo, who'd been nodding along with his father's advice, startled. "Wait. _What?_ "

—because Kakashi knows the perils of having a fan as a teammate and doesn't want anyone to tarnish his son's innocence.

.

Kakashi shadows team activities and, every time Minato decides something, just gives a judgmental " _Hmmm_."

Sakumo is torn between embarrassment _(because he's not going to DIE during training and why does his father have to be so RUDE to his sensei?)_ and excitement _(because he's moving beyond the basics now and that means he can finally train with his father without it being an exercise in futility)_ but Minato is just this bewildered, flustered ball of mild hurt. Because Hatake Kakashi _("Just call me Kakashi.")_ used to be, maybe not in a conventional way, so nice and he doesn't know how he made the man hate him?

Orochimaru assists in the psychological warfare against the jōnin-sensei by simply watching the blond and, very calmly, drinking tea- Minato's developing a twitch that manifests whenever Orochimaru is so much as _mentioned_.

.

Okay but imagine how difficult it is for Minato to assign Sakumo missions when Kakashi would just loom each time he tries and Kakashi ISN'T also assigned said mission.

.

Rin totally has a crush on Kakashi, he's freaking out- not only internally but full on _Orochimaru that baby genin has a crush on me!_ (Orochimaru is less then helpful with _"She's likely not the only baby genin crushing on you."_ and _"Would you rather she have a crush on Sakumo?")-_ but so is Sakumo. Because Rin, his teammate, is sighing over Kakashi like she forgets that Kakashi is his _father_ \- except _not_ since she keeps asking about his father's habits at home.

There are _so **many**_ other things Sakumo would rather be doing then sitting while his teammate interrogates him on his father's bathing habits. _Help him._

.

Sakumo and Obito are best friends from the moment that Sakumo notices that Obito stopped bringing lunches to school and after Sakumo's lunches just _happened_ to have too much food _would you mind helping me finish, Uchiha-kun?_

 _._

Obito thinks Kakashi is a complete asshole, sees how excited Sakumo always is when Kakashi shows up _(interprets it as Kakashi never being around)_ and how Kakashi acts towards Minato-sensei _(interprets it as Kakashi being cold and cruel)_ and concludes that Kakashi is a horrible- potentially _abusive_ \- father _(not that he says anything because he can see how much Sakumo loves his dad, which really just makes it worse)._

Then Kakashi defies the Shinobi Rules, defies the Hokage's orders just because he heard that Team Minato was being sent to the Front Lines and proceeds to systematically _decimate_ the enemy in a protective rage _(which actually earns Sakumo a spot in the Bingo Book that basically consists of a warning to engage at the peril of becoming a target for the Inugami)_ and realizes that no, Kakashi isn't a bad dad.

He's just has bad people skills and is very overprotective _(and probably has some kind of son complex)._

.

Kakashi tries and that's enough for Sakumo (it's not like he wouldn't have gone to therapy anyways with being a ninja).


	2. au of an au: hogwarts au

**au of an au: hogwarts au**

 _ **Protective Dad Kakashi at Hogwarts AU** _

**.**

* * *

.

Sakumo was five when he did his first bout of accidental magic, the evidence- a magical picture featuring his five year old self and Shiro, his beloved muggle stuffed wolf, playing together- was proudly displayed on the wall opposite to the Floo so that anyone who came out of it would see it immediately and, as he grew, it only grew more embarrassing. But, well, Kakashi _loved_ it and was so _proud_ \- it may not have the complex transfiguration that his father had done as _his_ first accidental magic but animating an object was still very impressive, _especially_ for a first time- that Sakumo faltered each time he went to ask his father to take it down.

Which was why Sakumo was standing by the fireplace, watching his five year old play with Shiro with occasional glances to the clock while his father debated what to put into the 'carry-on' bag beyond his school robes.

 _At least he checked my trunk over last night_ , he thought after another glance to the clock _(10:25)_ before he leaned backwards to peer at his father, nearly falling when he found Kakashi looking back at him, a mixture of amused and silent _what are you doing?_ with the carry on in hand. "Uhh...are we leaving now?"

"Yes," his father nodded, heading to where he was waiting by the fireplace, pausing after grabbing the jar holding their Floo powder. "Are you sure-"

" _Yes_ ," It came out as an exasperated hiss, given that it wasn't the first time since Sakumo had gotten his Hogwarts letter that Kakashi tried to convince him not to go, and he winced at the tone but didn't take it back. "It's _Hogwarts_ , Dad, I'll be fine. Besides, you deserve a chance to work on-site with Orochimaru again."

That last bit was important because, how ever much Sakumo _loved_ his father for basically stopping his life just to raise _him_ when Kakashi found out that his mother was pregnant, Sakumo had always felt guilty for being the reason that Kakashi did the work he loved with his friend.

"...alright." Kakashi sighed, angling the jar so Sakumo could grab some powder. "Let's go before you miss the train."

He didn't say anything until the powder turned the flames green, "Platform Nine and Three Quarters!" Sakumo just barely got out of the way when his father came through with his trunk and the carry-on, Kakashi just grabbed his shoulder and hustled them onto the train and into an empty compartment.

Honestly, he was kind of impressed at how his father managed to cut through the crowd so skillfully.

Kakashi put his trunk away, handed over the carry on and it suddenly hit Sakumo that he wouldn't be seeing his father- whose paranoia never kept them apart longer then a few days- for _months_. "I-..." he faltered, not really knowing what to say.

"You'll be fine," Kakashi said, patting his head awkwardly and Sakumo wasn't sure who exactly his father was trying to convince. "Just-...keep Shiro with you," Shiro, his stuffed wolf that had been modified- after his animation of it- into a kind of magical guard dog...thing, who probably could make a shield strong enough to stall a _dragon_ given that Kakashi had asked his old teacher to help with modifying it. "And I'll send Kama over to you once he gets back from delivering to Orochimaru."

His father moved away, hesitating before going to the compartment door and Sakumo darted forwards to give him a hug, "I'll be fine." He said it like a promise then added, "I love you."

* * *

Kakashi lasted an hour after the Hogwarts Express left Platform Nine and Three Quarters before digging out the old Time-Turner he'd abused to both take care of his son fulltime and work during Sakumo's baby days and using it judiciously to get a job at Hogwarts as the Care for Magical Creatures Professor.

Orochimaru would understand- though not without comments about a _'son complex'_.


	3. au of an au: obsession, kakashi

**au of an au: protection to obsession, Kakashi**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **.**

Hatake Kakashi loved his son; from the moment Sakumo was born he'd loved him and Kakashi would continue to do so long after his bones had been reduced to dust. It's like a fire, a spark that ignited an inferno that grew every single _second_ Sakumo was alive, or like poison, burning and searing in time with his pulse as his heart helped it spread with each beat and impossible to forget and _destroying him from the inside._ It was like his heart had been carved from his chest and reformed into this tiny, little whelp that cried for his attention and whimpered when he set him down.

The Hokage gives him three weeks, three amazing and terrifying weeks, before returning him to active duty and, for the very first time, Kakashi _hates_ his Kage and the Village that calls him away from his son. His whelp. His personal little miracle.

 _(Sakumo is his heart, beating outside his chest)_

He is not called away straight away and Kakashi visits his old sensei, Uzumaki Mito cautions and just about out right _forbids_ any attempt at manipulating time but helps him create a new kind of clone, so durable that it is almost a person. What they create is something based off the _kage bunshin_ and the Uzushiogakure _Raijin_ seal array that powered their electrical grid; Kakashi can continually add chakra to the array to charge the clone-to-be, the more chakra added then the more durable _and_ powerful the _copy_ will be. Originally it was to be like the _kage bunshin_ in that it was independent thinking and would give him the memories that it acquired once it disappeared but Kakashi argued his sensei to making it so that he would be actively controlling it- so that he would, effectively, be in two places at once.

 _(Kakashi doesn't listen to Mito when she forbids him investigating time seals, he has a feeling that it could be useful in the future)_

It almost gets him killed on his first mission, trying to be in two places- _he is the Inugami, tearing through Suna-nin; he is the father, calming his crying son_ \- at once but he endures. He _survives_. He returns to the village and trains and trains and _trains_ until he _excels_.

 _(Two places at once becomes three, then four, then five, and on as he adapts and trains- adding another copy every few months until he has an army, all disguised except the one whom watches Sakumo. He does not inform anyone of this, he knows how to make the array by heart so his sensei need not be informed- does not need to know that he's methodically placing a copy in each village-town-city-outpost in Hi no Kuni._

 _No one needs to know that his teammate died, that he harvested her blood and chakra as she was dying to create a_ new _kind of copy- one that has the abilities, chakra,_ memories _of his teammate while still remaining_ his _to control. After all, Kakashi doesn't return alone- no, Nakamori Akira returned to the village right at his side.)_

Kakashi is right when he thought that looking into using seals to alter _time_ would be useful; Sakumo turns four when he starts asking to join the Academy, Kakashi puts it off a year by claiming his son is too young _(he knows he will not be able to claim any longer then that, Kakashi is a genius who graduated at five- the Village is very interested in seeing his son become a shinobi)_ and he immediately delves into everything concerning time manipulation _(Minato-kun looking into Time-Space Ninjutsu makes for an easy opener to get Mito, Hiruzen, Orochimaru and Jiraiya all talking)_ while cosigning a squad of copies to do a thorough investigation of the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

Sakumo turns five and enters the Academy, on his first day he befriends a brilliantly little orphan named Kama.


	4. au of an au: orphan, greatest tragedy

**#orphan**

Intellectually, Sakumo knew that his father took dangerous missions, but he never doubted that Kakashi would make it back. It was inconceivable that his father wouldn't return, Kakashi _always_ came back home.

Then the ninken watching him did a full-body shudder, offered him their contract scroll then disappeared and it was as if his stomach had dropped because the only reason that the ninken would pass on their contract was if their current summoner was dead.

 _No,_ Sakumo thought blankly as he stared at the scroll. _No,_ the thought came again but there was hysteria tinging it now, he was shaking. _He can't be de- he **promised** he'd come back!_

It was a desperate, _foolish_ hope but-

Kakashi would _never_ broken a promise to Sakumo before so _surely_ he wouldn't start _now_?

.

* * *

.

 **#greatest tragedy**

Even as Kakashi pushed chakra ( _too much_ , a medic will later scold, _you over loaded your pathways_ , and he will not care) into his feet, Kakashi knew he'd be too late.

He's there in time it see Sakumo's eyes widen, to hear that last pained gasp as the blade is pulled back out of his son's body and catch the discarded body before it falls to the ground but Kakashi isn't fast enough to stop the blade from connecting.

(he'll always hate himself for that, will devote the majority of his training into speed with a single-mindedness that could be dubbed obsession)

Kakashi couldn't stop and mourn though, there were enemies and though he could recall the fight- all he'd ever remember is the _rage_ he felt- he _did_ fight. When the last corpse hit the ground and his rage dissipated, he was left hallow and heavy but free to approach his son's body.

By then, the corpse was cool to touch.

He sat there, anywhere from minutes to hours, just holding Sakumo in his arms as it grew stiffer in death; Kakashi remembered the first time he'd held his son.

He didn't want to go back.

Sakumo deserved a proper burial though.

(After, all his free time is spent in front of the memorial and every mission he goes on Kakashi can't help thinking _this one, this is the one that will let me see my son again_.)


	5. lullaby

A loud wail pierced through the early hours of the morning and Kakashi almost broke his door with an instinctual throw of a chakra-enforced kunai. The next moment he nearly tore the door from it's hinges in his rush to get to the next room. Sakumo's cot wasn't located in Kakashi's room, babies were loud and he deemed it safer for his son - and it was still _odd_ to think that, he'd never imagined having a child - to sleep somewhere where he wasn't liable to have kunai thrown at him when he started screaming in the middle of the night.

Sakumo caught sight of him as soon as he arrived, wail cutting off into a soft hiccupping sob as the baby made grabbing motions with his hands.

"I don't understand you," Kakashi told his son simply, even as he leant down to pick the boy up. "What's with this... _obsession_ of being held?" His son grabbed his hair, which had grown out a bit during his mission away and made it within grabbing range, and gave a series of whimpering sobs.

 _Separation anxiety,_ Mito-sensei had called it when he returned after three months from his expected two week mission and Sakumo clung to him, wailing whenever he was put down.

"Hey," Kakashi told him, softer now and in the tone he used to only use when interacting with newborn ninken pups. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

Which...well, wasn't a promise he could make given he _needed_ to take missions to support them.

"I'll _always_ come back to you," He promised instead.

Sakumo hiccupped and while he seemed to be calming down now that he was being held, he wasn't exactly settling down to sleep.

Kakashi heaved a sigh before starting to sing, " _They didn't have you where I come from, never knew the best was yet to come. Life began when I saw your face, and I hear your laugh like a serenade. How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough, is forever enough?_ "

" _How long do you want to be loved?_ " As he sang he turned his head towards Sakumo, breathing in his son's scent. The next words weren't sang so much as asked, "Is forever enough?"

" _'Cause I'm never, never giving you up._ " Kakashi promised.

* * *

 **A/N:** **song is "Lullaby" by Dixie Chicks**


	6. miscommunication

So, sometime in his teenage years (16/17?) Sakumo sits Kakashi down and basically demands that his dad stop stalking/having his ninken\comrades stalk him. It's a difficult talk but Kakashi does finally agree to "step back" - which, being the socially stunted person he is, includes immediately leaving the village for an extended mission away from Konoha.

Sakumo is **_freaking out_** , thinking that he hurt his father/angered Kakashi enough that his dad decided that taking a year long - potentially _suicidal_ \- mission was the best way to avoid him. All Sakumo had wanted was the chance to see if he actually _deserved_ his rank as a shinobi, that he could stand on his own two feet without his father hovering behind him and bullying everyone else into playing nice with him.

Kakashi, however, got the message that his protectiveness came off to a teenage - and now worldlier - Sakumo as creepy and disturbing and _completely unacceptable_. It wasn't that Kakashi hadn't _known_ his actions were on the extreme side, that there were many whom looked at him oddly, but his son had never minded so he had never cared. But now Sakumo _did_ mind, knew how **wrong** Kakashi was - now his son wanted _nothing_ to do with him.

So Kakashi did them both a favor and took himself out of the equation.

 _(In the end, it takes Minato and Orochimaru joining forces to work out the miscommunication between the two Hatakes)_


	7. sleep 1

The first time it happens, Sakumo is a newborn and determined to let the world know how very much he disagrees with the horrible act of being born.

Kakashi would, in fact, _love_ to voice his own complaints about being saddled with a - very _loud_ \- baby he hadn't planned for or intended, he'd have really liked to have complained about how the mother opted not to help and, as he was the higher ranked of them, it became _his_ responsibility to care for their his the child. He didn't and it was not in no small thanks to his sensei, who did _not_ care for complaints, and Orochimaru, who would have just told him that it was his fault and if he wasn't prepared to face the consequences of his actions then he should have restrained himself.

He wanted to, though, he _very much wanted to_.

Sensei had told him, briskly, when she had visited to see his son the child for the first time and found the baby wailing for all the world to hear, that it wasn't uncommon for babies to cry after being born or even for a few days afterwards. "They're used to being surrounded by their mother's chakra," she told him, "So coming into the world and fining that their mother won't - _can't_ \- envelope them in their chakra as in the womb is a shock - an unpleasant one at that."

Which, well, Kakashi had an answer but he had wanted a _solution_.

"If you're used to being surrounded by chakra-..." he broke off, blinking when the wailing stopped and he turned to find the baby looking at him from where he had put it. There was a beat of silence before the baby resumed it's screeching and Kakashi hurriedly went on talking, "Then would it help if I cover you in my chakra? Or no, since I'm not your mother?"

The baby hiccupped, fisted hand rubbing at it's face.

"I'm going to try something," he told it, approaching cautiously. "There's no reason to scream, I'm just going to pick you up-" He promptly did so and was startled when the baby latched on to him. "And I'm going to just-"

He didn't finish, instead he focused on manipulating his chakra to cover - but not smother - the baby in his hold. It started to whimper, face scrunching to cry but, before he could pull his chakra away, it's face relaxed and the whimper changed into a coo. He wasted an hour like that, holding the baby with his chakra around it and just _talking_ \- he eventually, in desperation, started reciting various mission reports from memory - to it until it started to drift off and he deemed it safe enough to put it back to bed.

He was wrong, as soon as he put his son the child down, it started wailing again and he had to spend another half-hour to get it to drift once more. It was two more tries - once where he'd actually managed to leave the room before it started screaming - before Kakashi got that the baby wouldn't allow him to put it down, even to sleep.

Kakashi took it to bed with him, laying on his back and letting it nestle into his side as he used his arm as a barrier to keep it from rolling. He barely slept, too worried that he'd get caught in a nightmare and injure the fragile thing thus earning a scolding from his sensei, and was wide-awake as morning came with dawn light filtering through the apartment window, highlighting the child's hair that was so similar to his own.

"Oh," Kakashi said, reaching with his free arm to gently brush his knuckles against the soft baby-flesh, as it hit him like a revolution, _this is my son._


End file.
